KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS STATE CONVENTION

The 14th Alaska Knights of Columbus State Convention convened in Juneau this weekend. Marlene and I were honored to attend the banquet tonight to visit old friends and make new ones. The Knights of Columbus conventions are held in April every year in a different city, and only makes it to Juneau every five years. Since I’m in legislative session in Juneau in April, I took this rare opportunity to attend.

The Knights of Columbus, founded in 1882, is dedicated to the principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism, and is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization with 1.7 million members in 14,000 councils. The Knights have had a presence in Alaska since 1914. In 1954, the Knights helped convince the U.S. Congress to add the phrase "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. Well known Knights include President Kennedy, Associate Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito, and Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and brother of President Bush.

I joined the Knights in Warner-Robbins, Georgia in 1968 and, as military assignments moved me around the country, held Knights membership in Fairborn, Ohio, Riverside and Moreno Valley, California, and now Anchorage, Alaska.

The photo shows me with Sir Knights Johnny Lopotrone and Bernie Freeman from Anchorage, and with my Juneau friend Louie DeMayo who previously worked in the capitol, honored tonight as the Alaska “Knight of the Year.”